


Animalistic Tendencies

by FantazyFanatic217



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Bromance, Character Development, F/M, Friends to Lovers, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Project Freelancer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:00:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23292115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FantazyFanatic217/pseuds/FantazyFanatic217
Summary: "Sir, if all the categories tested, Agents Maryland and Washington tested 25% higher than most other Agents in one particular category that you may find interesting.""And what might that be, Counselor?""Protective Intincts."
Relationships: Agent Carolina/Agent York (Red vs. Blue), Agent Washington (Red vs. Blue)/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character(s)/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, I really suck at summarys. So this is my insomnia driven, COVID19 quarantine bordem driven work. Clearly diverts from canon so dont hate me. And if yall have hard ons for exact timeline conforming dates, I'm sorry to disappoint you cause I will reference Halo events and dates will most likely be changed to condense the timeline. Set at the literal start of Project Freelancer.

Canidate Name: Olivia Kingston  
Birthdate: May 25th 2530 Age 21  
Height: 5' 3"  
Weight: 120lbs  
Race: Caucasian  
Eye color: Blue  
Hair color: Black  
Handedness: Ambidextrous

Homeworld: Reach  
Affiliation: UNSC   
Designate: Combat Medic  
Rank: Corporal  
Station: UNSC FFG- 374 _Peacekeeper_

June 28th, 2550  
UNSC secure facility

**_Olivia_ **

  
"What is it that drew you to Project Freelancer?"

The man in front of me had a practically bulletproof expression, emotionly eyes behind thick framed glasses. The air felt so tense you could cut it with a knife.

"A furthering career."

He noted the response but was uninterested as if he had heard it a dozen times before. He scrolled through the data pad that was on the data infront of him. I didn't want to appear to nosey by staring, but I noticed my name on the pad.

"I do my research on my canidates, I've seen everything ONI doesn't want me to see on 350 hopefuls." He said. "What do you think I found?" 

That was no surprise, top secret projects dont exactly chose their canidates blind. He probably knew more about me than I knew about myself. This meant he also knew that this wasn't the first UNSC program I was trying to get into.

"That I was also a Spartan III canidate, and an ODST canidate." I said, not waiting for him to answer the question for me. 

With every tense moment that passed I was growing increasingly aware of the little details of the room. How loud the second hand on the clocl was. How he was left handed when he jotted down interview notes and how half of them were illegible chicken scratch. How the fluorescent lights weren't getting enough power flow and they slightly flickered every few seconds. I hadn't felt this anxious in a long time.

"Correct. I also see that the only reason you were eliminated from the Spartan Program was because you missed the age cut off by a month. And when you enlisted you were rejected from the ODST program because you were too small." He said. "You know… you're actually 4 inches shorter and 30 pounds less than our ideal female canidate."

I felt my heart sink into my stomach. I never thought that so many door would slam in my face because I was nixed 3 or 4 inches by my parents. It was agitating, more than agitating in fact now that it sounded like the 3rd time wouldn't be the charm.

"So what? Your not gonna give me a chance either because of my size?" I scoffed. Comping an attitude with the interviewer of the project I was trying to get into probably was not my brightest decision.

"If I was going to reject you based on your size, I would've tossed your application in the shredder and we wouldn't be having this conversation." He said. He tilled his head down, staring me down hard just over the frames of his glasses. "I want you to tell me what this file isn't. What is it that you possess that could be valuable to the Project."

Combat efficiency? Medical training? Hand to hand combat effectiveness? Mentally stable? He had all that on the pad in front of him. There wasn't much else that I could think of that he didn't already know that wasn't some bullshit answer. Instead I went with what sounded right to me, maybe not what he wanted to hear."

" _Drive_."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Olivia** _

There were hundreds of canidates up for selection, Only 50 would be chosen. The UNSC spared no expense in providing the range of canidates the Project had requested. Some looked young enough to have just signed their enlisted papers yesterday, other looked old enough to have watched the colonization of the Endari system. Some looked like they were nursed with raw eggs and steriods from birth, others looked like they hadn't seen an ounce of protein in a long time.

And then there was me. 5 foot nothing, and just old enough to drink by a few days. Most had found someone to engage in a small conversation with while they awaited the results, but I was focused on not getting stepped on or elbowed. 

350 canidates didn't seem like that many until you're tightly compacted into a holding room with all of them like sardines in a can. I snaked my way through the crowd the best I could, finally managing to find the corner of the room, which had just a little breathing room from eveyone else. 1 man had also decided that personal space was important as he had tucked himself back into the corner as well. He was about 6 foot, blonde, not that much older than I was, if at all.

"Finally able to find some breathing room?" He chuckled.

"That depends, are you willing to share the space?" I said. 

"I can make an exception." 

I leaned against the wall, looking back into the dense sea of hopefulls. Well over half would leave disappointed.

"Name's David." He said. "What about you?"

"Olivia." I said. "From Reach."

"Reach, that's one world I hope to see in my career. I was born here on Earth, the mother of the colonies." He said. "I was talking to some guys earlier, they were refugees from Harvest. Another handful were from New Harmony." 

"They're really pulling people from everywhere, arent they?" I said. "Definetly got a wide range of canidates here. I wonder what specifically their looking for."

"Could be anything, they're not looking for Spartans, just good soldiers, or people that can be made into good soldiers." David said. "But even then… some people in here look like convicted felons."

"Even if they're were looking for Spartans, most wouldn't make the cut in here." I said.

"You look a little short to be a Spartan." He laughed.

The look I shot him a glare and I watched the chill shoot down his spine. He threw his hands up in defense, clammering out a nervous half chuckled response. "Hey now, you _also_ look like you'd kick my ass in a fight so…"

"Good save." I smiled. "You UNSC or just a hopeful drifter?"

"Fresh outta the press for UNSC just got assigned to a ship when I put in my application." He said. "What about you?"

"Enlisted at 18 and been aboard the _Americana_ ever since." I said.

He laughed, causing me to raise an eyebrow. I didn't recall saying something funny. 

"We were gonna be shipmates, small world." He said.

"Maybe we still will be if we're just a couple of hopeless hopefulls that this project rejects. She's an excellent ship to be aboard, you'll see colonies you never could've hoped to." She said.

He opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by an announcement by a female sound A.I.

" _The selection process has been completed. When you hear your name and desginate, please report the medical bay to be processed_."

The excessive chatter came down to a dull roar, many eagerly awaiting their name to be called. Many unaware that they would leave disappointed.

" _Hailey Kirkwood, desginate: Arizona_."

"Naming after states huh?" He shrugged. "Well… there are 50 of us, makes that signs easy."

" _James Miller, designate: New York."_

 _"Issac Landon, designate: Rhode Island_ "

"So what's waiting for you on the _Americana_ if you don't get the cut here?" I said.

"Weapons tech, what about you?" 

"Combat medic."

" _Carolina Church, designate: South Carolina_."

"You don't strike me as the type to go sprinting face first into combat." He smirked.

"And you dont strike me as a weapons tech." I fired back. 

"Fair. I don't have the stomach to be a medic."

" _Andrew Hatfield, designate: North Dakota_."

The more names they called, the more the room started to thin, the more worried looks that were passed around the room. After about 20 names I was starting to get a little worried myself, I hope the little bout of attitude i shot the interviewer with screwed my chances.

" _David Washington, desginate: Washington_."

David perked right up, eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas.

I could help but chuckle a bit. "Your last name is Washington?"

"Made it easy to pick me a sign." He shrugged.

"Were you born in Washington state? That is the question." I laughed.

"…. I dont wanna talk about it."

" _Olivia Kingston, designate Maryland_."

My eyes shot wide open at the sound of my name. I couldnt lie, it definetly felt like my heart skipped a beat or two.

"Looks like we're in this together, at least thats one less strange I have to get to know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made up names for a lot of the main character since most of their real names were never specified. Obviously, the ones who's names were revealed I will use. Also keeping up with the 50 states I had to specify Carolina as South Carolina, but I will eventually push that closer to canon in time.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Olivia_ **

50 selected Agents, an even 25 and 25 of male and female. 35 people Earth natives, 10 refugees from Harvest, 3 from New Harmony, and then myself and one more from Reach. 31 enlisted UNSC and 19 civilians. Ages ranged from 19 to 41. There was a wide variety selected, which made it all the more difficult to tell what exactly they were looking for. There had to be something we had in common, probably the most minor detail. 

The first couple of hours was spent on an in depth medical evaluation. The application included a general physical to make sure that we werent overweight, or had the joints and muscular stength of a 90 year old. Shot update, stress test, EKGs, piss test and a full blood analysis. I thought they would pull my records from the UNSC data base since I already did most of this when I enlisted but the Project wanted their own tests conducted instead. Apparently an in depth IQ test and ahort answer senario test would be administered at a later date.

Next was the armor fitting. Every selected Agent would get a custom built and rather expensive set of armor that we wouldn't see for quite a few weeks. Every precise measurement straight down to the uncomfortable areas. I didn't think a fitting would take well over an hour, but this one did.

And finally, a briefing before being funneled aboard the flagship of the Project, the _Mother of Invention._

All 50 of us were funnelled into lecture hall, less tightly packed than before but still a tad bit uncomfortable. I seated myself a bit away from the initial crowd, Agents were still filing in from their medical exams and fittings slowly but surely. About 20 or so of us were just sitting around waiting.

Call me nosey, call me a little invasive but I couldnt help but listen in on the chatter around me. Just a little small talk here and there. One Agent stating that he thinks he's the best of the best and that the rest of us need to step aside. Another admitting that she had no idea why she even made it into the Project. And then one stating that he was only in it for the cash involved. Quite a wide variety of conversation, most of which I was glad I didn't open my mouth.

"Hey there." David said, claiming the seat to my left. 

"Don't tell me you already consider me a friend." I teased.

"In a room full of 50 strangers, I'm gonna stick with the one that I some what know." He said. "Plus, you kinda scare me, I wanna stay on your good side."

"I'll remember that in combat testing." I laughed. 

He leaned back in his seat, kind of swiveling towards me as his voice dropped low. "I was talking to some other Agents while we were waiting for our exams." 

"Anything interesting?"

"Yup, see the the two blondes down there? The guy and the chick side by side?" He pointed out a pair sitting in the lower row of the lecture hall, chatting away with a red head girl and brunette guy that was twice my size.

"Yeah?"

"Andrew and Jessica Hatfield, twins. North and South Dakota I think."

"Appropriately named."

"He sounds like a good guy but she's one crazy bitch." David said. "And I noticed the guy that's with the red head that the twins are talking to acts a lot like het shadow."

"Probably a couple."

"Huh, I guess nothing was off limits when selecting canidates." He chuckled. "The bald guy with the tattoo on the back of his head? Im convinced he's border line sociopathic."

"Man you did a lot more talking than I did." I said.

"Not exactly, just observations. Call it paranoid, but I perfer to know whos around me." He said.

"Than what did you observe about me?"

He leaned back in his seat, eyeing me as he thought long and hard about his answer.

"You were actually difficult to read." He said. "I get the gut feeling that I shouldn't go hand to hand with you if I like the way my face the way it is."

"Probably right." I shrugged. "But it's been a minute since I've had to go hand to hand with someone, that's not particularly common in combat medics."

"But you _have_ done it before? Yes?"

I rolled my eyes. "Prior UNSC I dabbled in martial arts, yes."

"Aha! See, my gut doesn't lie." He smirked.

"Yeah yeah yeah, what ever you say _Washington_." I snarked right back.

More and more Agents filed into the lecture hall, some with pale, unsure expressions. It was clear that some were already questioning their decision to be here, just hours after being selected. Some were clearly already starting to think of the physical and mental strain that we'd endure over the next couple of weeks.

"Some of these people look scared shitless to be here." I said.

"Probably weren't expecting to make it in." David shrugged. "Probably civilians too."

It wasn't long after the last Agent was sent in that the head of the project was set to address us as a whole. Those that were lingering quickly found themselves a seat. Chatter quickly died to pin drop silence as the project head took the floor.

"Good afternoon, _Agents_." He said with a thick texan accent that I recognized. The same man that interviewed me just hours ago. "My name, is unimportant, you will simply refer to me as _The Director_ , head of Project Freelancer."

Odd, but nonetheless I kept my mouth shut.

"As you have hopefully heard when you agreed to apply to the Project, this is an experimental division of the UNSC that tests combat effectiveness with certain experimental ordinance, armor enhancements, and more importantly, _A.I._." 

Armor enchancements were expensive enough as it was, A.I. were a whole other level. 50 Agents was a lot of people to equip with expensive equipment.

"Starting now, every single of one of you will be ranked, 1 to 50. Your actions in training and in the field will be analyzed and may effect your placement on the board. Those at the top of the board will be given A.I, armor augmentations, and more critical missions as they have earned it. Those at the bottom obviously will not." The Director said. " _I_ was the one that interviewed every single one of you. Many of you stated that you wanted this opportunity to prove yourselves as soldiers. Now is the opportunity to do that, you are all on even ground right now."


	4. Chapter 4

August 12th, 2550  
UNSC RT-636 Mother of Invention

_**Olivia** _

The first month and a half of settling into a new life was interesting. It was easier to some and a lot harder to most. I had been stationed on a frigate for most of my UNSC career, so adjusting to the ship took no time at all. In fact, I was more so use to being packed into barracks and bunking with 10 to 15 other people. But this ship was designed specifically for the project, so what would be the barracks meant to house hundred marines, was instead converted into private living quarters for every individual agent. All 50 of us had our own private rooms, which was nice. Across the hall from me was David, cant stray too far apparently but hey he's not half bad. Out of 50 people, 1 person I didn't mind being around wasn't at all bad. To the left of me was one of the twins, South. And to the right of me was some sleeze bag, Virginia. South I didn't mind as long as we steered clear of eachother. By the argument she got into with Virginia as we were moving in, she was definetly a tad bit hot tempered to say the least. But to be fair, Virginia was definetly a dirt bag. Inflated ego, felt as though he was God's gift to women, everything that made me want to vomit. My first interaction was him calling me by 'angelface' rather than my name while staring directly at my chest. I prayed I would be paired against him in hand to hand at some point, just to wipe that stupid grin off his face.

Meeting some of the other Agents was too bad though, me and Wash had a few meaningful conversations with the other twin, North and the supposed infiltration expert, York. Others I wanted to punch in the mouth the first time they spoke, Oklahoma and Wyoming.

The first couple of weeks was mostly fire arms qualifying, different weapons, different senarios, different variables. The board started moving quite a bit since this was the only thing we were ranked on. My name kind of hovered around the low 10's once I got placed. Don't get me wrong, I could hammer a shot when needed, but I was up against some brilliant marksmen. North, Wash, and as much as I already dislike the bastard, Wyoming, were all lethal shots in any situation. 

But there were quite a few others here that made it quite clear that they had never picked up a gun before. And of that, quite a few were already frustrated. But one or two knew they were never a sharpshooter to begin and were ready to train to get better. California, I found out, was only 19. The youngest here, failed miserably in her qualifying but was cheery and excited about going through remedial training. And on the other hand, Montana missed his qualifying score by 1 point and he was pissed at the world. And he made sure absolutely everyone knew, multiple times.

Today marked the first day of hand to hand combat testing, all 50 of us were funneled into a circular observation deck, the training floor below completely encompassed by the deck. Agents were called down, two at a time for testing, and two waiting on deck. It was the best 3 of 5 to declare a winner. And a winner was not declared on knock out my a standard boxing match. Instead, F.I.L.L.I.S.S. would track successful strikes, debilitating blows, how well you could control your opponent and overall efficiency to determine a winner.

I think it was Arkansas and Arizona on the floor. Quite a cat fight if you ask me. Arizona threw more successful punches, but Arkansas was great at grappling on the ground. A wrestler vs a boxer.

"I think she's gonna tear out all of Zona's hair." David said, cringing at every sharp hair pull and elbow to the face.

"Probably honestly." I chuckled.

"Welp, by the end of the day Ill know if I guessed right or not about not wanting to go hand to hand with you." He said.

"Yeah, no hard feelings if we get paired by the way."

They were only the third pair down on the training floor, 6 out of 50. Only 44 more to go. But at least this was entertaining. The first round consisted of Michigan and Tennessee, Tennessee is in the infirmary right now being treated for a broken nose. They were pretty evenly matched, but Michigan had more stamina than Tennessee, which won he the last match. Next was Nevada and Georgia. Georgia all but embarassed Nevada. Georgia would definetly shift a little higher on the board after that one.

North wandered over to us after chatting with a couple other Agents. He tended to linger around York and Carolina, occasionally chatting with his sister until she got a little too hot headed to handle.

"First day of hand to hand, nervous?" North said.

"Depends on who they stick me with, some of these guys look like they were bottle fed steroids from birth." Wash said.

North chuckled. "Honestly, same. I prefer keeping my targets at 1500 yards and unaware I'm watching them, not up close and personal."

_"Curent score, Arizona 1 - Arkansas 2. On deck, Maryland vs Virginia."_

Shit. I rolled my eyes as soon as I heard our names. I could all but feel Virginia's cocky grin on me from where ever he may be.

"Welp, thats you." Wash said. "I would really appreciate if nailed a shot to the jaw for me, I don't like that creep."

"Yeah, I don't either." I groaned.

"No doubt he'll be cocky. I haven't seen you fight yet, so I dont doubt you, but he *is* twice your size." North pointed out.

"Agreed." David nodded.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall. He's a lot of talk, trust me he wouldn't shut up for like 2 hours while I was moving in."

"Also agreed." David shrugged. 

_"By submission, point Arkansas. Arkansas is the winner 3 to 1. Maryland and Virgina, please report to the training floor for testing."_

I could already feel the pre- fight jitters working into my system. I turned to head down to the training floor, hopefully not to embarrass myself in front of 48 Agents _and_ The Director. I barely took half a step before Wash rested a hand on my shoulder, halting me in my tracks.

"Hey Maryland, good luck."


	5. Chapter 5

_Olivia_

I always get nervous when I know I'm being watched. Firearms testing was a bit different since I could basically put myself into a trance and ignore everything else around me. But this, this was different. I was _very_ consciously aware that 48 other people were watching, plus The Director. 

I had the pre match jitters as I stepped onto the training floor. At least the match was set the way that I was acustomed to fighting. No protective padding. Just bare fist and foot, the way I liked it. 

As Virginia strutted across the training room floor, I actually paid attention to him more than I wanted to. He started his stride with his right foot, his lead foot. If I recalled correctly from firearms training, I think I saw him shoot right handed. Simple.

He was way taller than me, probably around 6'2" to 6'3", and very easily over 70 pounds heavier. Well, the bigger they are the harder they fall.

As I stepped at the edge of the ring, awaiting F.I.L.L.I.S.S. to start the round, I could already feel the dozens of sets of eyes burning in the back of my skull. Many up in the observation deck probably thought this was set up to be a one sided match. I could be wrong, Virginia could be an excellent fighter, but something about his cockiness led me to believe that it was all a front.

_"Round one, begin."_

"I'll _try_ to not aim for your face, sweetheart." Virgina smirked, raising both fists in a defensive stance. He bounced around on the balls of his feet like a typical boxer as we circled each other like predators stalking prey.

  
He made the mistake of throwing all his weight into his first right wide swung punch. It made it rather easy to sidestep to my left. His own momentum carried him forward, my right leg catching both of his. I slammed my elbow hard into his back to ensure his momentum continued, tripping over my leg and slamming face first into the training floor.

He scrambled back to his feet, eyes a bit wider than normal. 

He made the first agressive step once again, more agitated this time. He stepped with the same foot and led with the same fist once again. With another side step, I trapped his leading arm with mine, forcing him to lower himself down to my level. Then I drove my knee into his stomach, once, twice, three times, before letting him stumble to the training floor. But not without a sharp kick to the back om his way down to ensure that he stayed down.

" _Round one over. Point Maryland. Score 1 to 0."_

Virgina stood himself up, taking a few sharp breathes after the wind got knocked out of him. He glared at me, but it was clear that the only thing bruised right now was his pride. 

" _Round two, begin._ "

He readied himself again, nothing snarky to this time though. He charged this time, without warning. And there wasnt much that I could do to defend against 220 pounds of solid man meat sprinting full speed towards me except brace for impact.

He litterally took me clean off my feet. I struck the ground hard, my head striking the floor twice as hard. But in a slightly concussed haze, I watched him reel back a punch as he was over top of me. 

I swung upward with a sharp twack to the jaw to break him of his momentum. I reached upward and trapped his left hand that was planted firmly on the floor beside my head between my arm and my side. I then reached up and grabbed his shoulder and started to roll myself. My legs twisted in his to break his solid plant and to continue my own momentum. Now I was on top of him.

The first thing I did was slam my fist down into his stomach, so the hands that he brought up to defend his face were now defending his stomach. I had free reign. One, two, three, and four strikes across his face before F.I.L.L.I.S.S. finally intervened.

" _Round two, over. Point Maryland. Score 2 - 0."_

His face was already bleeding profusely, I'm pretty sure one of those hits broke his nose, at least he was bleeding like it did.

I stood my self up turning my back to him as I started to walk back to my original spot. He practically lept to his feet, grabbing a fist full of my hair and dragging me back down onto the tile. 

"Come here you stupid bitch!" He hissed.

One strike to the cheek left me more than a little dazed. I reached up, digging my fingernails deep into his forearm to get his hand untwisted from my hair before he ripped more hair from my scalp, shredding his skin as hard as I could. Before he could reel back another strike, he let go.

I brought my arms up to shield my face and my knees up into my stomach, basically turtling. He wasn't sure of what to do, and his first attempt to reach down and strike me again was another major mistake. I drove a heel straight into his jaw, and I think I felt it crack under the force. It was kind of sickening to hear the audible crunch that came with that strike. I definetly pissed him off even more with that one. He reached down again, but he anticipated which leg I would use to try and kick him with, grabbing hold of my leg. He took that opportunity to try and get back down to my level, his last mistake. 

I took that opportunity to wrap my other leg around the back of his neck. And as his grip loosed on my other leg as he tried to get the one around his neck off, I slipped it free and locked it in place. I cinched down hard, as he tried desperately to break the choke hold. 

It didn't take very long. As soon as he grew slack I released him, falling limp onto the floor. I stood myself up as he kind of rolled around half limp half concious.

" _Point Maryland. Score 3-0. Maryland is the Winner. Additional scoring penalty to Virginia for failure to wait until round start to begin._ "

Yeah, my cheek kind of throbbed a bit and my neck was already stiff from my head hitting the floor, twice. But his face was far more fucked up than mine was.

A couple of the stand by medical crew came jogging out to scrape Virginia off the training floor. He was already starting to stir back to life as I started to head back to the observation deck. I didn't have him in that hold nearly long enough to seriously hurt him. 

When I headed back up the stairs to the observation deck, I had eyes all over me. Some excited, some mortified. It was a wide range of interesting facial expressions. I headed back to my original spot with Wash, North was still there. And at this point, York and Carolina had joined them.

"So I _was_ right!" Wash immediately blurted out before I could say anything. "I knew you were nasty at hand to hand. I had a feeling."

I kind of just shrugged. I wasn't exactly one to go around bragging. I could save that breath on more important things. But I wasn't gonna lie, it was a bit satisfying.

"I think I broke his jaw." I said.

"I would honestly be surprised if you didn't." York said.

"Its always the little ones that are the scariest." North teased. "Great job down there though. Already setting yourself out there."

" _The board has been adjusted to account for the training matches so far._ "

I turned around to face the score board, immediately noticing that my name was no longer in the low 10's where it had originally landed. We're my strikes sloppy? Did they deduct me because Virginia got the better of my once? I quickly scanned to see if my name had gotten lower and I couldn't seem to find it. But then I found it, and I couldnt hide the smile that bloomed across my face. Second place. A huge jump forward. Hope I don't lose it. The only one ahead of me was Carolina, rightfully earned of course. If I told you I wasn't ecstatic, I'd be lying.

"Top 5 after one sparring match. Not bad, killer." Wash said.

"Let's just hope I stay there."


	6. Chapter 6

All 50 Agents were tested and appropriately scored by the end of the week in hand to hand combat. Personality batteries and critical thinking senarios were administered in the days to follow, but didn't have an overall effect on the board.

Strangely, the Director and the Counselor refused to share the results of the personality battery with us. In a way I understood, I know a couple of Agents wouldn't be pleased to hear that they were classic narcissists. Or that they were incredibly arrogant. It wasn't my biggest concern though. I don't think it actually factored into our placement on the board anyways. It was probably a way for the Director to learn more about us and skip actually talking to us.

What I was ready for was our first and only fitting for our armor. Last minute corrections before the sets were ours. Some Agents hadn't ever worn body armor before. The additional 50 pounds worth of gear I typically wore was going to feel like child's play compared to a full set of SPARTAN grade MJOLNIR Mark 5.

From what I heard from the techs when I was getting my measurements, this set was a blank canvas. All 50 sets were cut specifically to the individual Agents dimensions, but were identical in terms of build. The Projects contract with the UNSC included armor augmentation and set alterations, which of course were expensive. Those that deserve the armor mods were going to get them, those that did not were shit out of luck.

But that was next week, tonight I was nose deep in training logs, laying comfortably in my bed. I found it interesting comparing who I've talked to and who boasted about their skills against how they actually faired in combat or at the range. Those that bragged typically didn't do to well.

There was a soft tap at my door. Given my neighbors, it was one of 3 options and I doubted South or Virginia wanted to chat. Virginia actually couldnt chat if he wanted to, he ended up with his jaw wired shut for a few weeks, sorry not sorry.

"Come in."

Surprise surprise, David was my guest this evening. My eyes blew wide at the nasty shiner that was now in full bloom under his left eye. He was among the last of the Agent's tested yesterday. He won against Iowa, and beat him 3 to nothing. But Iowa certainly gave him quite a parting gift. It was one of the only strikes Iowa managed to land, a cheap shot but a solid one to say the least.

"Ouch dude, you didn't put ice on that?" I said, half chuckling, half somewhat actually concerned.

"I've had so much ice on it, my face went numb. Just gotta deal with the ugliness for a week or so." David said seating himself in my desk chair, feet propped up on the edge of my bed. "At least my jaw isnt wired shut."

"Lets be honest, we're not sad we dont have to hear Virginia for a couple weeks." I said. 

"Valid. He left you with a couple of bumps and bruises too." Wash pointed out.

The hard knock to my cheek left a deep tissue bruise that still hurt days later, but it wasnt as nasty looking now and wasn't nearly as swollen. There were a lot of Agents nursing wounds at the moment. Some lost teeth, some broke bones, others were concussed. Only one or two had to spend a night in the infirmary.

"Doesn't hurt as bad as his ego probably does. You hear anything about the scores for our personality tests?" I said.

"We're not getting them." 

"Why not?"

Wash leaned further back in my desk chair. "Counsler said that its not important to us, it doesn't factor into our placement on the board so why should we need to know?"

"I just thought it be interesting to find out who's a narcissist and who's a coward." I chuckled.

"While I dont disagree, the test was pretty dumb anyways."

"Also true." I said. "What ever they want to do with that information is up to them, they probably know more about us then they wanted to anyways."

**********

"Have the resulted of the personality test been compiled?" The Director said, leaning over his holo table.

"They have, sir." The Counsler said.

"Good, start with the problem children first."

The Counselor inserted a data pad into the holo table, which uploaded all 50 files of results for every agent. He flipped through all 50 files and slid 6 or so of them across the touch screen to the Director to view, more names than he anticipated.

"Wyoming, Maine, Virginia, Utah, Michigan, and Montana."

"I already have an idea as to whats wrong but do still tell me their results." The Director said, first opening up Wyoming's file.

"Wyoming, apathetic and cowardly. Lacks the ability to sympathize and its predicted he wouldn't risk himself for others if it came to it." The Counsler said.

The Director frowned, from a combat stand point, Wyoming faired quite well, ranking top 15 at the moment for long distanced marksmanship and decent hand to hand combat. He closed his file and set it aside for now with the intent of looking further into it later.

"Maine, borderline sociopath. Lacks empathy, social skills, and any ability to relate to others. Scored excessively high in aggression."

That one wasn't surprising. His place on the board was by sheer brutality in hand to hand combat. His opponent would spend several days in the infirmary recovering after Maine was done with him.

"Virginia, narcissist and sexual predator. Lacks understanding of boundaries and denies he's capable of making mistakes. Given some of his answers regarding female colleagues, its believed he has sexually assaulted several women in the past. Feels very easily threatened by females that challenge his skills."

Disgusting. He made a mental note to partner him with a male agent if possible. Though most female agents would probably break his neck if he attempted something, and he couldn't say he would fault them if they did.

"Utah, coward and apathetic. Will not risk himself for others and lacks the ability to relate to one's suffering."

Odd considering Utah was former UNSC, especially a grunt. Even the UNSC has one or two slip through the net when picking their front line marines.

"Michigan, coward and overly emotional. High stress situations drive her into a state of inconsolable hysteria."

That didn't surprise him to say the least. Michigan almost had a break down on the training floor when she went up against Ohio, and Ohio was the lesser skilled of the two. She was one to keep an eye on, her break downs would eventually get someone killed.

"Montana, narcissist, sexual deviant, and emotionally unavailable. Lacks the ability to sympathize with one's suffering, and will harm others for personal gain. Likely has bizzare and violent sexual fantasies."

The Director shook his head. Of course there had to be a few bad apples of the batch. "Worse than I would've liked to hear, to say the least." He said.

"Dismissals from the program?" The Counsler said, only glancing up slightly from the holo table.

"Cant afford it. UNSC shelled out millions from their budget for Freelancer, going backwards and telling them we need more candidates would result in cancelation of the program." The Director said.

"But there are definitely 'at risk' agents, a risk to themselves and especially others." The Counsler stated.

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we get there. But right now I'm more interested in our star Agents. I have an idea of who they may be already."

Much to the Directors surprise, the Counsler slid 8 files across the holo table to him. Certainly more encouraging after discussing the misfit agents.

"New York, South Dakota, North Dakota, South Carolina, Connecticut, California, Maryland, and Washington."

He recalled seeing something note worthy about all of the agents mentioned. All of the mentioned were remarkable either in hand to hand combat, marksmanship, or both.

"New York, protective, sympathetic, logically sound, and emotionally stable. Only fault that is that he tends to put others needs before his own."

Infiltration expert, oddly social for excelling at working alone. Won his hand to hand against Wyoming, and didn't do half bad in his marksmanship testing either.

"South Dakota, goal driven, hard work ethic, hot tempered and gets irritated easily, but is easily diffused by her twin."

The more volatile half of the twins. She hit good marks in her hand to hand combat testing. She won her match but she ended up breaking her opponents jaw post match because of a smart remark. 

"North Dakota, protective, kind hearted, empathizes with others very easily. Extremely tolerant. Especially protective over his twin."

The calm to the storm. Top 5 for marksmanship out of all the tested agents. He's a rather humble individual, beat his opponent bloody in his hand to hand match, and then helped him limp to the med bay.

"South Carolina, goal driven, incredibly competitive but incredibly determined at the same time. God help anyone that stands in the way of what she wants."

Martial arts expert, impressive athletic ability, lethal at small arms fire. If she wasn't signed away to the Project she'd be an outstanding candidate to SPARTAN III. 

"Connecticut, empathetic, sympathizes with others easily. Is easily effected by what other think but doesn't allow it to stand in the way of right and wrong."

Faired decently in hand to hand, scored top 10 in marksmanship. As sympathetic as she could be, she did have a temper. 1 wrong smart remark on the training floor is now the reason why Utah lost a couple teeth. 

"California, incredibly young but incredibly level headed. Thinks logically and doesn't let emotion get the better of her. Predicted to have one of the highest IQ's out of the other agents."

Lost her hand to hand match but scored top 10 in marksmanship. Her value came with her mind. She was only 19 but had an amazing grasp on technology and creativity.

"Maryland, protective, lethal but humble. Prefers to let her skills do the talking but has a minor competitive side. Easily sympathizes with others, also easily forms bonds with others."

The rejected SPARTAN III candidate. She sent Virginia to the infirmary after her hand to hand match, rightfully deserved. She scored top 5 in marksmanship as well.

"Washington, incredibly protective, eager to learn to improve his skills where he lacks. Will admit fault when needed, easily bonds with others."

Scored top 5 in marksmanship, faired decent in hand to hand. His opponent landed several strike on him that should've been debilitating. But either a high pain tolerance or sheer determination powered him through his match for the win.

"Well, I'll take these results and read into them before tomorrow." The Director said.

"Before you go, there is something that I've noticed that may be note worthy." He said.

The Director narrowed his eyes but remained silent, urging the Counsler to continue. 

"Sir, if all the categories tested, Agents Maryland and Washington tested 25% higher than most other Agents in one particular category that you may find interesting."

"And what might that be, Counselor?"

"Protective Intincts." He said. "They each scored alarmingly high, 98th and 99th percentile. The only ones that came remotely close were the twins and they scored in the high 80's."

"And why is this important to me?" The Director said.

"Washington and Maryland have also happened to befriend each other."

"… Interesting."

More potential variables to take into consideration when executing the Project's intended goal, but an interesting variable to say the least. One that he wanted to test.

"I want those two as partners from now on. I want to see just how this instict of their's works. If I'm correct in my theory, we may just have found a lethal duo pre AI testing."


	7. Chapter 7

I had a sneaking suspicion that the personality was more than the Project being nosey. The day before our armor fitting, the Director announced would be matched with partners that we would be working with unless otherwise stated.

Training would start next week, those that needed partners would be announced later today after armor fitting. We wouldn't be actually training in armor for about another month or so but this was the last chance for last minute corrections before the armor sets were ours. We'd practically be living in the sets so it was important they fit perfectly. This was also the first time we'd see our armor in the custom colors we had picked.

The armor consisted of a mix of steel and polymer plating quarter to half inch thick. The plates bind to a kevlar steel fiber reinforced body sleeve. The sets themselves added an additional 150 to 200 pounds onto the user. Where the real magic happened was in the helmet. The helmets were A.I. compatible standard. The HUD operating system was fine tuned to be able to operate some armor attachments with high accuracy and reliability. The HUD also recorded and managed an array of field data, to include audio and video logs, vitals, firing accuracy and efficiency, combat efficiency and exertion. More data for the project. More variables to be analyzed. I definetly didn't want to be charged with analyzing all those numbers.

"Feels weird, I haven't had a _full_ body armor set before." David said, taking off his helmet. "Feels like I'm being swallowed alive in this thing."

The body sleeve definetly took some getting use to, it definetly clings to you in the areas you dont want to be clung to. He, York, and Carolina had already put their whole armor set on already and were busy, I had just put on the body sleeve and was waiting my turn for the armory technicians. So I stood just outside the armory.

"Definetly different from the standard infantry sets that we get in the Corps." I said. "Lighter than standard SPARTAN armor though."

"It feels heavy as shit." David said. He was still admiring the armor set, getting a look at all armor plates he could see. He had chosen a black steel base color with yellow decals.

"But not 500 pounds extra heavy." I said. "Standard SPARTAN armor is significantly heavier."

"I thought this _was_ SPARTAN armor." York said. He bounced around on the balls of his feet, still getting use to the feel of the armor. If you hadn't worn a full set before and you were use to UNSC issued grunt gear, it was completely different entity.

"Not quite. The plates are just as durable but theyre smaller, thinner, and are more spaced than SPARTAN armor. Plus there a lot more internal wiring and padding between the suit layers for environmental control." Carolina said. "The standard SPARTAN armor is designed for chemically enhanced super soldiers twice our size and triple our weight."

Almost knew as much as if she had worked for the SPARTAN project herself. SPARTAN was locked down tight typically.

"You know an awful lot about SPARTAN tech." I said.

Carolina shrugged. "I had family that worked in the project."

Figured.

Before anyone else could pose a question, the front doors to the armory opened up, one of the armory techs poking their head out.

"Agent Maryland, we're ready for you."

I would be lying if I didnt say my heart didn't flutter just a bit. Im always excited for new toys.

"I guess we'll see you when you come out." David said.

"I mean, you guys can come in. Its not like you're seeing me naked or anything." I chuckled.

"Fair."

"Hey, were gonna peel this armor off and hit the mess hall before the meeting later. We'll catch you both later." York said.

"Alright, see you guys." I said.

As I headed into the armory, Wash followed in tail. "I might as well stay, can't exactly remember how to get all this off." He said.

"You might want to remember that, its certainly a process to get it all off." I laughed.

The technician gestured for me to stand in the center of 3 large tables, all of which had different armor plates spread out across them. The colors I picked freshly painted, you could still smell the paint fumes that hadn't quite dissipated. Black steel and cyan, reminded me of home.

"We'll start with small plating first. Arms out."

With one technician on each side I did as I was told as they started binding plates to the body suit, starting with the plate on the back of my hand and working up.

"Black steel and cyan?" Wash said arching an eyebrow.

"Reminds me of home." I said.

"How long has it been since you've seen Reach?" He said.

"3 years. Haven't been home since I enlisted. Reach isn't a frequent stop in my fleet." I said. "Only saw her once in passing."

I do miss the sights of the cyan and light blue auras that lift off the planets surface. I grew up in New Alexandria, but sometimes when my family traveled to visit relatives, you could see the auras from the surface in a clear night sky. I miss it.

"Long way away from home. Earth isn't exactly close, Reach is quite a distant colony." He said.

"Trust me I know."

The technicians snapped the last plates into place on my shoulders and started working on my legs. The armor already felt heavy. It would take some getting use to for sure.

"What about you? How long has it been since you've been home?" I said. 

"Not much to miss at home." He shrugged. "I haven't been in Washington since basic, but I left home years before hand."

"Couldn't have been that long, you dont look much older than me." I arched an eyebrow.

"Im 24." 

"Never mind, you're ancient."

He rolled his eyes. "Ass."

With a plate snapping in place around my hip, there wasnt much else left to go. The chest plate would be the heaviest plate, it took both technicians to lift it into place. Once the chest plate was in place, I definetly felt heavy but better balanced to say the least.

The armory tech handed me my helmet as opposed to putting it in place for me. I inspected the visor a moment before turning it and place it on my head, the HUD sparking to life immediately. 

As the HUD cycled through its normal start up, the words "Welcome Agent Maryland" flashed across my visor. And I couldnt lie, it felt pretty good to be in my own custom armor set. It kind of cemented my place in Freelancer. I knew I wasn't going any where after the initial selection, but sitting in my own set of armor designed for the project was the first time this all felt real.


	8. Chapter 8

My armor set was good to go, it fit like a glove, colored and cut the exact way I wanted it. I was almost a little sad that I had to take it off. For now it had to be hauled away since in-armor training wouldn't begin for at least another month. For now, we had partnered training to look forward to. I was definetly excited, but also a little nervous. I'd be trusting who ever they assigned me with my life and I didn't even get to pick who.

Packed into the lecture hall like sardines once again. All 50 of us together once again, some of us still baring scars and bruises from our initial combat test. The social groups had grown more prevalent, groups of 4 or 5 forming instead of people just aimlessly wandering in awkward herds.

I took my normal seat off the the side of the lecture hall and it didnt take Washington long to find me. And after him, Connecticut, Carolina, York, and the nicer of the twins soon circled around us.

"And so the lottery of partners decides who we're working with for the next couple of months." York said.

"Not quite a lottery. They've already picked partners for most of us." Carolina said. "Not much to chance of they're the ones pulling the strings."

"That's fair. But they're are definetly some people in here that I feel like I'd be set up for failure if I got paired with them." North said.

"Oh hush, I'd be willing to bet money that you're gonna be paired with your sister." York said.

As soon as the side door at the bottom of the lecture hall opened and in walked the Director and the Counsler, those that were standing quickly scrambled to their seats. It grew pin drop silent in an instant.

"Good morning." Was it morning? Difficult to remember sometimes being in orbit. A low rumble of hqlf coherent murmurs answered the Director.

"As you know already we've made the decision to alter the course of the project just slightly. Some of you will be working with partners and some of you will be working alone." He said. "This decision was not based solely on personal combat ability. It is largely based on the personality tests that were administered last week. We have determined that several of you have compatible personalities that may work well in the field when paired. This is in the testing phase, those that are partnered now are not garunteed to stay partners. Changes will be made as we see fit."

I wouldn't mind someone to watch my back in the field. Less stress of having to look over my shoulder at ever twist and turn.

"Although you will be partnered, you will still be scored as the individual. However, how well you work with your partner 

"Starting now the following Agents are to work and train as partners." He said. "North and South Dakota. Virginia and Montana. Maryland qnd Washington…" 

I perked up immediately. A quick glance over to Wash showed that he was just as confused as I was. I certainly wasn't disappointed considering some of the alternatives, and I was definetly glad it was someone I decently knew. But I was intrigued on what was the deciding factor to make us partners.

"New Jersey and Georgia. Florida and Wyoming. Michigan and California…"

"That was way better than I was expecting." Wash said. 

"Expect the worst, hope for the best?" I said.

"Best would've been Carolina."

I elbowed him in the ribs, prompting a half wheezed, "Kidding!"

Carolina turned herself in her seat. "I prefer to work alone anyway? One less body to look after.

"South Carolina and New York. Connecticut and New Mexico. Utah and Colorado..."

York swiveled around in his chair with the biggest grin I've ever seen stretched ear to ear. "Guess you gotta look after me now?"

If her eyes rolled any harder they'd fall out of her skull. It was kind of funny watching her get her ego checked.

As the Director continued to list off names, it was very clear some were content with their partners, some were indifferent. And then there were a handful that were outright pissed. Now I _still_ didn't know a lot about most of the other agents but I did understand why some weren't exactly the most thrilled about their chosen partners. Some were just plain assholes, but other's were legitimate cowards and wouldn't risk themselves for their partners if it came down to it.

But hopefully for some, like the Director said, these changes weren't set in stone. But me? I was actually excited. My ego wasn't so big that I took it as a gut check to get assigned a partner. I felt I definetly had room for improvement but the board apparently said otherwise. Nontheless, Wash and I could definitely benefit from this partnership. He was the better marksman, I was the better hand to hand. I could teach him a thing or two to improve his hand to hand combat, and he could teach me a lot about improving my marksmanship. And we wouldn't be at eachothers thoats (probably) while doing it. At the moment, I think this is for the better.

"I already know you're gonna wanna spar with me huh?" Wash said nudging me out of my own thoughts.

"Perhaps."

"Don't break my face alright?"

"If I do it wont be intentional."


End file.
